Colombia awards second online gaming licence

Colombia’s gaming regulator Coljuegos has issued its second online gaming licence to Corredor Empresarial, operator of Kambi-powered Betplay.com.co.

Corredor Empresarial was awarded its licence earlier this week and comes nearly three months after the regulated market officially opened with the launch of Apuesta Global Group’s WPlay.co.

“With this initiative we seek greater resources for the health of Colombians, expanding the portfolio of games through innovative tools and tuning with the trend towards greater use of new technologies in the world,” Coljuegos president, Juan Pérez Hidalgo, said.

Hidalgo also said he expected to announce the issuance of more online gaming licences over the next few days.

“We want more operators to obtain the authorisation of Coljuegos to achieve a strong sector and in tune with the new technologies,” he added.

Hidalgo said the regulator expected to issue several more licences in the coming weeks.

“Although very much expected, this news now enables Kambi and Corredor Empresarial to advance with plans to launch the BetPlay brand into the regulated Colombian market.

“Kambi believes BetPlay has the potential to become the market leading sportsbook in Colombia, illustrating Kambi’s scalable technology and strengthening our position in Latin American,” a Kambi spokesperson said.

Licensed operators are required to pay a tax of 15-17% on gross gaming yield and to ensure a return to player (RTP) of 83%.

As part of the new framework, Coljuegos also started ISP blocking a list of more than 300 operators from June which resulted in PokerStars withdrawing from the country.

Read EGR’s recent interview on the Colombian market with PokerStars here.